Improvement in bomb-lances for killing whales



E. PIERCE. Bomb Lance.

Patented Aug. 22, I865.

Inventor.

lUNiTED STATES ATENT 1 FFKCEQ EBENEZER PIERCE, OF HALLOWELL, MAINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,5d8, dated August22, 1865.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EBENEZER PIERCE, ofHallowell, in the county of Kennebec and State of Maine, have invented anew and 1mproved Apparatus for KillingWhales, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a plan of my improved apparatus, the parts being representedin the position they occupy when ready for use. Fig. 2 is a centrallongitudinal section through the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of thebomb-lance detached.

The object of my invention is to produce a weapon with which I amenabled to fasten two irons to and kill or capture awhale at oneoperation; and my invention consists in an apparatus containing aharpoon and bomb-lance combined, which may be thrown by hand into thewhale with ease and perfect safety, the bomb, after the harpoon hasentered, being driven into the whale and exploding with sufficientviolence to kill or severely wound him, whereby he may be securedwithout difficulty.

To enable others skilled in the art to unden stand and use my invention,I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a gun, the rear end of whichterminates in a conical socket, to, into which is fitted the staff orhandle B. b is a vertical slot cut through the breech of the gun for thereception of the hammer c, which is pivoted therein, and is retained inits firing position against the resistance of the mainspring d by asliding rod, e, which passes through a hole in the back of thebreech-plate.

O is a sleeve, of metal or other suitable material, which slides overthe opening formed by the slot b, and fits the breech so snugly as torender it impossible for the water to enter.

The rod 6 moves freely back and forth in guides f g projecting from theside of the front and the rear of the gun, and a small pin, h, at-

' tached to a cord, i, passes through the rod 6 and bears against thefront of the guide f, thus preventing the hammer c from beingaccidentally released.

The forward end of the rod e is provided with a screw-thread, on whichturns a button, j, which, on coming in contact with the whale, forcesthe rod 0 back, the pin it being previously withdrawn from it to allowof this movement.

D is an iron or harpoon of the required pattern, its inner end fittinginto a socket-piece, k, projecting from the side of the gun A, and thisiron is provided with an eye, I, through which is rove one end of theline m, the other end of .which is secured to the boat. A few fathoms ofthe line on is left slack, as seen in Fig. l, and is stopped by a spunyarn, it, near the upper end of the stafl'B, whereby the lia bility ofthe iron being retarded in its flight to the whale is avoided, the yarnn being broken when the slack portion is taken up.

E is a bomb-lance, which is bored out, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to forma cavity for the reception of a charge, 0, of powder, and has ascrew-thread cut within it to receive a corresponding screw-thread onthe iron point of the staff 0. This stafip is made of wood or othersuitable material, and its rear end is covered with a metal cap, q, toprevent its being shattered by the explosion of the charge 1" containedin the gun A. Through the whole length, and passing through the centerof the staff p, is laid a fuse, s, which is ignited by the explosion ofthe charge 4" in the gun A, and this fuse is so timed as to burn down toand ignite the charge 0 in the bomb and cause it to explode withviolence within the whale at the desired moment.

0n the point of the staff 19 is formed the shoulder t, against which,and surrounding the staff 19, is fitted the strap a, to a projectingpart of which is pivoted, at v, the rod w, the farther end of whichv isprovided with an eye, as, through which is led the line m, secured tothe harpoon.

A small wooden pin,y, Fig.3,passes through the projecting portion of thestrap a into the rod w, so as to keep it in a proper direction forregulating the flight of the bomb-lance, this pin being broken when thebomb bursts, thus allowing the rod to swing around into a positionsimilar to that indicated by the red lines in Fig. 3, where it serves asan additional means of fastening to the whale.

Instead of one rod, w, attached to the staff of the bomb, two rods maybe used, if preferred.

Operation: The gun A and bomblance E having been properly charged, thelatter with its fuse s is placed within the former, and the hammer 0having been cocked and held in its firing position by the sliding rod 6,the sleeve B is fitted over the aperture I), made in the breech, and thepin it removed, when the instrumentis readyfor use. On being thrown, theharpoon or iron D enters the whale until the button j on the rod 6 comesin contact with him, when it slides back in the guides fg and withdrawsthe end of the bent arm of the rod 0 from ofi" the hammer 0, thusreleasing it and discharging the piece, when the bomb-lance is drivenforcibly into the whale, the ignited fuse soon causing the bomb to burstwith violence, thereby seriously injuring or killing the whale. The bomblance, being shattered by the discharge, becomes detached from the staffand the pin y broken, so as to allow the rod 20 to draw upon the staff,as shown in red, Fig. 3, and by this means I am enabled to fasten twoirons to the whale at one operation, and effect his capture with agreater degree of certainty than has heretofore been attained.

Instead of a lance being used in connection with the bomb, a harpoon orother iron may be substituted therefor, it being screwed into orotherwise secured to the head of the bomb E. If desired, the iron D maybe removed from'its socket 7c in the gun A, and only the bomb E, with alance or an iron of different form, be employed.

It is evident that instead of the gun being provided with a look, asabove described, it may be discharged by a fuse leading up along thestafiB, the fuse being ignited by the operator just before theinstrument is thrown.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. An apparatus for fastening two irons to a whale at one operation,consisting of the bomb-lance E, in combination with a harpoon orotheriron, D, operating substantially as set forth.

2. A rod or rods, 20, in combination with the staff 1) of the bomb,opera-ting in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

EBENEZER PIERCE.

Witnesses:

P. E. TESOHEMAOHER, N. W. STEARNS.

